MP

This seat will be contested by two sitting MPs. Labor's Mick Murray was elected as MLA for Murray at the 2001 election, winning the new seat of Collie-Wellington in 2005 and now contesting Collie-Preston after another set of boundary and name changes. The Liberal Party's Steve Thomas won the newly created seat of Capel in 2005, but his seat has been abolished in the latest redistribution and its numbers used to bring other south-west seats up to the new enrolment quota.

Profile

The electorate of Collie-Preston includes four south-west shires, Collie, Dardanup, Capel and Donnybrook-Balingup. The largest centre is the coal mining town of Collie, but the electorate also includes outer suburbs of Bunbury around Eaton, as well as the towns of Boyanup, Capel, Donnybrook, Balingup and Dardanup.

Redistribution

Replacing the abolished seat of Collie-Wellington, the new seat of Collie-Preston retains only the Shire of Collie and rural parts of Dardanup Shire from the old seat, with the Shires of Waroona and Harvey transferred to the revived seat of Murray-Wellington. Into Collie-Preston comes the rest of Dardanup Shire, including the outer Bunbury suburb of Eaton, as well as Capel and Donnybrook-Balingup Shires from the abolished Liberal seat of Capel. All these changes significantly damage Labor's position, the margin in Collie-Preston an estimated 0.8% compared to 9.3% for Collie-Wellington.

History/Trivia

While this seat has a new name, its core is still the mining town of Collie in the state's south west. Held by the Labor Party from 1908 to 1989, Collie had only three sitting members in those eight decades. Collie is the state's only significant coal mining centre, but the Labor vote in Collie began to slip in the 1980s, with the redistribution ahead of 1989 election sealing Labor's fate by incorporating several rural shires into the electorate. However it was a surprise when the National Party's Hilda Turnbull won the seat rather than the Liberal Party. Remaining a marginal seat through the 1990s, both Labor and Coalition governments heaped largess on the district, most notably the economically and environmentally questionable decision to build a new base load coal fired power station in Collie. At the time the state appeared to be awash with gas from the north-west shelf that could have provided cheaper and cleaner power, but given the gas supply problems of the last few years, perhaps coal was the right option. Collie was the final seat decided for Labor in 2001, gained by Labor's Mick Murray at his third attempt, but with a tiny majority of 34 votes. Murray's position was strengthened when the seat was re-drawn as Collie-Wellington ahead of the 2005 election, and a 6.7% swing at the 2005 election gave Murray a comfortable 9.3% margin, though that has almost been wiped out on the latest redistribution.

2-Party Booth Result

Collie-Preston is the most politically diverse electorate in Western Australia. Labor recorded majorities in only 6 of the 21 booths used at the 2005 election, but they included the five large booths in Collie where Labor's two party vote was above 80% in 2005, reaching 85.8% at Wilson Park Primary in Collie. Yet there were also eight booths where the Labor vote was below 40%, the worst Labor vote only 19.7% at rural Elgin, near Capel.

Main Candidates

58 year-old Mick Murray contested Collie unsuccessfully in 1993 and 1996 before winning by just 34 votes in 2001. Murray has lived in Collie all his life and served on Collie Shire Council for more than 10 years, including terms as Deputy President. A former coal miner, he has also served as Chairman of the Coal Miners' Welfare Board, President of the Combined Coal Mining Union Council and Chairman of the Collie Sports Advisory Committee. After increasing his majority substantially in 2005, Murray now faces a tighter fight in this re-drawn seat. His Liberal opponent is also a sitting MP in Steve Thomas, who was elected to Parliament in 2005 to represent the now abolished electorate of Capel. Thomas worked as a veterinary and owned the Donnybrook Animal Health Centre at the time of his election. He has lived in the local area for more than 15 years and was the President of the Donnybrook Sport and Recreation Association.

Issues and Polls

A Westpoll published on the first weekend of the campaign reported a 1% swing to the Liberal Party, making this seat too close to call.

Assessment

One of the key seats at the 2008 election, and one of only two contests where both major participants are sitting MPs.